With the extraordinary support of more than 10,000 donors, The Campaign for Cranbrook has surpassed $150 million, more than two years ahead of schedule. Fundraising efforts will continue through June 2010 in order to further Cranbrook’s strategic objectives.
“This is an historic day for Cranbrook,” says Rick Nahm, president of Cranbrook Educational Community. “We feel very fortunate to have the support of the alumni, parents, corporate partners, community leaders and friends who worked together to meet and surpass our $150 million goal. In a way, though, our work is just beginning.”
In the coming months, Cranbrook will continue to raise funds in support of educational outreach programs, scholarships, new construction, financial aid, preservation projects and endowment. “The Campaign for Cranbrook has enabled our Schools, Academy, Art Museum and Institute of Science to reach out to more people than ever before,” Nahm says. “It is imperative that we secure the funding necessary to continue to broaden and deepen our impact in the community, whether through distance learning, more financial aid for students in need or expanded museum offerings that will positively impact families throughout the region.”
Cranbrook chief campaign officer Michael Hilliard adds, “So much has been accomplished to date with The Campaign for Cranbrook, but more can be done. We are fortunate to have the support of enthusiastic constituents who have benefited from Cranbrook, its resources and its programs and are eager to ensure that others have the opportunity to experience all that Cranbrook has to offer as well.”
To date, The Campaign for Cranbrook has funded a Boys Middle School expansion, technology upgrades, scholarships, financial aid, faculty enrichment programs and restoration of historic sites at Cranbrook Schools; a new West Entrance for school groups, the new Flint Anthropology gallery, expanded distance learning programs, renovated classrooms and the establishment of a statewide Great Lakes watershed program at Cranbrook Institute of Science; additional scholarship and financial aid opportunities, improved technology and studio space and increased endowment at Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum and vital restoration and preservation programs throughout Cranbrook’s National Historic Landmark campus.
In the coming months and years, Cranbrook will turn its efforts toward completing proposed projects and funding current priorities including:
Cranbrook Schools
· New Kingswood Girls Middle School building
· Completion of the Cranbrook Quad and Oval restoration
· Endowment support for Horizons-Upward Bound
· Increased endowment in support of faculty
· Increased financial aid
Cranbrook Institute of Science
· Formal establishment and renovation of physical space for Cranbrook’s Center for Great Lakes Water
· An early childhood learning center
· Expansion of education and outreach programming
· Endowing positions
· Upgrading Institute’s observatory dome and telescope
Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
· Art Museum expansion and renovation
· Additional scholarship opportunities
· Increased financial aid
Cranbrook Educational Community
· Ongoing renovation and preservation campus-wide
· Enhancement of cultural heritage programs
· Enhancement of educational technology
“Meeting these goals and challenges will enable thousands more families, students and others to take advantage of the exceptional educational programming and cultural enrichment offered at Cranbrook,” says Nahm. “Particularly at a time when public schools throughout the region are challenged to provide science and arts education, these programs will help support that need.”
Arlyce Seibert, director of Cranbrook Schools, adds, “We have already seen the results of The Campaign for Cranbrook in our classrooms and in the outstanding accomplishments of our students. We look forward to a future where, through the ongoing results of the campaign, Cranbrook Schools will continue to offer unparalleled educational opportunities on a campus unlike any other in the nation for students from across the country and around the world.”
Says Michael Stafford, director of Cranbrook Institute of Science, “Already one of the region’s leaders in outreach programming, Cranbrook Institute of Science has dedicated itself to expanding its science education efforts into more classrooms and community centers. We are eager to enrich and enhance the scientific opportunities available to learners of all ages and backgrounds. Science engages minds, and it helps build the kind of educated workforce that this state is depending on for a brighter future.”
The Campaign for Cranbrook also will strengthen Cranbrook’s role as an incubator of artistic talent, providing funds for an expanded Art Museum and additional program and scholarship opportunities at the Academy of Art. “Creative thinking is the heart of innovation,” says Reed Kroloff, director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “It is the central component of any endeavor, and it’s the key to why so many of our graduates have gone on to have such a positive impact on the communities in which they live and work.”
The Campaign for Cranbrook reached the $150 million total thanks to a wide range of gifts, including 37 gifts over $1 million and four gifts over $5 million. More than 10,000 donors who have contributed to the campaign to date include alumni, trustees, governors, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, museum members, corporations, foundations and friends.
For more information about The Campaign for Cranbrook, visit
www.campaignforcranbrook.org.
